I'm Engaged to Who!
by Kurai Hitokiri
Summary: Kohaku Shiro and Celia Graham are in love with one another. The only problem is Kohaku's engaged to someone he's never even met before, and his family's depending on the alliance.  What's going to happen to the poor farmer?


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harvest Moon, Natsume, or any of these stories.

**Author's Note:** Hi, Kurai Hitokiri here. This is just a really short story that I wrote when I had sleep insomnia. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. This, along with my other two fics **Which Girl?** and **Story of a Dying Man**, might be my last stories in the Harvest Moon stories... Anyway, enjoy.

**I'm Engaged to Who?!**

By Kurai Hitokiri

------------

Five months. That's all it had taken for Kohaku Shiro and Celia Graham to fall in love with one another.

The two of them were the best of friends, laughing and joking with one another, teasing each other in a gentle manner, and spending all the time they could with one another, reveling in each other's presence.

The people of Forget-Me-Not Valley grew a bit tired of the friendship relations between the two young people. Anyone with eyes could see that they loved one another.

Kohaku would stare with greedy eyes upon Celia's beautiful visage when she wasn't looking, feasting upon every feature, memorizing every fault and perfection. When he saw Celia, he could tell what she was feeling by a quirk of an eyebrow, a soft movement of her hand, or just by looking into her shocking gray eyes. Yes, Kohaku Shiro was **deeply** in love with her.

And then there was Celia, whose stark gray eyes would sparkle when even the slightest bit of him was visible. She would laugh aloud, smiling radiantly at every passerby and greet them with a warm welcome. About the farm she would go about her chores singing in a delicate voice, soothing Vesta and Marlin's troubled minds.

The two of them were just content in friendship, hoping to gradually step up in later years when the two of them were old enough to have a serious relationship. After all, the two of them were only in their late teens, Kohaku was eighteen and Celia seventeen. They couldn't be sure whether or not the emotions they felt were just childish crushes or the deep, mature emotions that lovers shared.

They were hoping to grow into those emotions, like growing into different clothes over a long period of time.

But alas, sometimes things weren't meant to be.

Kohaku's grandfather, Jacob Shiro, was the fourth generation owner of a famous business company. His son, Mark, and also Kohaku's father, had disobeyed his father's orders and married a poor woman, the beautiful and humble Sakura Kazama.

After the deaths of his parents in a car crash, Kohaku was taken in by Jacob and educated in the finest schools. Jacob became very fond of his grandson, making Kohaku his heir and giving him freedom. However, as the Heir, Kohaku was required to make some sacrifice… That included loosing the right of deciding whom he would marry.

Jacob engaged Kohaku to the daughter of a wealthy man when he was ten years old, and the two were to be wed by the time Kohaku was eighteen.

Kohaku, not wanting to disappoint his Grandfather, the man who raised him and gave him everything, vowed that he would follow through with his promise, despite his love for another woman.

------------

"Welcome home, Kohaku, I'm so glad to see you again, m'boy!" Two men roughly embraced one another before sitting upon two red couches embroidered with images of dragons, rearing their heads and flame floating from their massive jaws.

The younger of the two sat rigidly, clasping the arm of the sofa with a scarred and callused hand. His chocolate hair was messy, almost as though he hadn't bothered to take a comb to it in the morning. Emotionless brown orbs peered out from a handsomely carved face, the usually smiling mouth a thin line of frustration. His slightly muscular body was clothed in a white dress shirt and navy dress slacks.

The older man was in his mid eighties. His black hair was neatly gelled back, unlike his grandson's. The same brown eyes as the other man's shone out from amid wrinkles, giving the owner the look of a wise old man. He was well dressed in a navy blue suit with golden buttons.

The young man glared with hatred upon the old man, who met his eyes with indifference. The two simply sat there, glaring at one another, having a battle between their line of vision.

"Grandfather…" the young man said. His voice was low and dangerous, every ounce of loathing coated into the one title. "You called me, and here I am. Where is the girl?"

"Patience, Kohaku," Jacob said, shaking a disciplining finger at the teenager. "Her father will be here momentarily to interrogate you, such is the custom of marriage. Sit up straight, and be polite…"

Kohaku Shiro snorted in distain before letting his eyes wander across the room he was in.

The walls were painted a light beige, fitting in perfectly with the red theme within the room. Every inch of the surface was crowded with various pictures of Jacob and his family and his various awards and certificates. Across the far end of the room, there stood a great Grandfather Clock. Its wood was dark and carved ornately, the face made of brass and the arms of gold. In the corner a desk the same dark wood as the clock accommodated Jacob's letter writing and business. Between the two men a coffee table sat, steaming mugs placed before both of them sat untouched.

Ten minutes passed in silence, the two men just staring about the room… anywhere **but** at each other. The tension in the room was high, and it seemed to take great strain upon both of them despite the fact they were just sitting in each other's presence.

The heat in the room was broken as the door burst open and another man came into the room, smiling cheerfully at the old man upon the couch.

He was a large man, about six feet tall. His hair was dark brown, and his eyes were sky blue. He too was wearing a fancy business suit, but this one was black and of lesser quality than Jacob's. His features were rugged, but every crease was filled with kindness.

The man took his massive hand and grabbed Jacob's in a firm handshake. He laughed merrily and then spoke in a voice that boomed through the room.

"Mr. Shiro, I am very, very happy to see you this fine day!"'' the man boomed, smiling pleasantly. He turned his gaze upon Kohaku, and his impossibly wide smile perhaps tripled in size. "Oh! Is this strapping young lad Kohaku?"

Kohaku hesitantly stood from the couch, holding out his hand to the man and smiling uncertainly. "Yes, I am Kohaku Shiro…"

The poor young farmer found himself caught in a bone crushing embrace, his outstretched hand completely ignored. It was as though a Boa Constrictor had wrapped around him and was squeezing the living daylights out of his lungs.

"Ah! What a fine young man!" the strong man said as he let Kohaku down. He stared at each feature of Kohaku's face, smiling and nodding every so often. After about twenty minutes, the man smiled, spreading his arms wide. "I approve… I don't think there could be anyone more worthy of my little girl than yourself!"

"Could I meet her, Mr…?"

"John Eriks! You can call me John, and when you're married, Dad!" the man boomed. He grabbed Kohaku around the shoulders, smiling brightly. "Come, let's go meet my little girl, shall we?"

Kohaku mulled in his misery as he and John walked (no, rather he was dragged) to the room across the way. _'Celia… I'm so sorry…'_

"Sweetheart, look who's here!" John boomed. "Look here, this is Jacob's grandson."

This room was virtually identical to the last, the only exception being there was one person sitting at the desk.

It was a woman, her head tucked in between two thin arms, which lay splayed across the smooth, polished surface of the desk. Rich brown hair fell across a beautiful neck and partway down her back. Her body was beautiful, with slightly tanned skin and a bit of muscle. Her delicate form was clad in a white dress, accentuating her hourglass figure.

Kohaku's mind became numb as he tried to make his thoughts wander anywhere but the room. Oh Goddesses, how he wished he wasn't here and he was at home, sitting under the shade of the Cherry Tree, Celia sitting beside them as they laughed at each other's crude jokes.

The woman still hadn't lifted her head. Her shoulders seemed to be heaving with sobs… she was crying?

Kohaku, as much as he didn't want to, left his spot by his grandfather's side. The air was heavy with nervousness as the young farmer gently put a scarred hand on the woman's shoulder in a sad attempt to comfort her.

"I… I'm sorry about all this…" Kohaku said, his voice cracking slightly. Goddesses, was his hand shaking? His voice cracking? Why was it that this woman was making his face heat up, his pulse go haywire, and his mind go blank? No! He couldn't have feelings for her… Celia…

Upon hearing his voice, the woman's sobs stopped almost instantly. He felt her muscles tighten unexpectedly underneath his hand and her gentle, heaving breaths as she fought to contain her emotions. Slowly the woman raised her head from the desk and turned her gaze upon Kohaku. What he found shocked him, and he let out a strangled gasp of surprise, causing both John and Jacob to look at the two with intense curiosity.

The woman's face was elegantly carved… No words could describe the great kindness or beauty she showed. The same kindness and beauty that Kohaku had seen in only one other person…

"Celia…" Kohaku said, his eyes round as saucers.

Celia's beautiful gray eyes, usually so filled of spirit went wide as she saw who was with her. Her mouth let out a small gasp as she and Kohaku spoke at the same time…

"I'm engaged to YOU?!" The two of them pointed at each other, their surprise growing ever higher as their families looked at each other in confusion.

"H-how…?" Kohaku asked, staring at the young woman. "This is so bizarre…"

"Err… do you two know each other already?" Jacob asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

John, on the other hand, was more understanding. "Oh, so **you're **the young man that Celia had spoken about so fondly!" he chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. "It's strange how this happens… Sometimes fate plays tricks on you… This must be one of those instances…"

Seeing at how the two young teens were staring at each other and making no move to talk, John quickly whispered to Jacob, who nodded in response. The two of them quietly inched from the room, leaving their heirs in painful silence.

"How odd…" Celia finally murmured. Her gray eyes averted their gaze unto the ground. "That we would be engaged to one another…"

"It certainly is…" Kohaku said softly, his eyes also staring at the suddenly interesting ground, "I truly thought that it would be a woman that was…" He broke off, instantly regretting he had ever said anything.

"A woman that was…?" Celia asked, smiling.

"A woman that wasn't beautiful, had no heart, and wasn't beautiful in every way possible," Kohaku said softly, turning red.

"And I am?" Celia asked, cocking her head and staring at her friend serenely.

"Oh no, I did not just say that out loud…" Kohaku murmured to himself, his face turning so red that it rivaled the red of Rudolph's nose on the foggiest of Christmases. That one sentence had given Celia his whole opinion of her. He was DOOMED!

Instead of being thoroughly disgusted and her eyes wide with dissatisfaction, as Kohaku expected to be her reaction, Celia's little smile grew to be more radiant than he had ever seen from her.

Her eyes sparkled gently in the light from the window as she spoke. "Kohaku… for a very, very long time now, there have been so many emotions that I haven't been able to explain. They first started when I met you five months ago… they grew as I knew you more as a person."

She cleared her throat, tears silently dripping from her eyes as she continued.

"They were strange feelings, but they weren't bad. I wondered for three months what they were, and then when I saw you smile and speak to me so softly and gently… that's when I realized how much I…… love you."

Kohaku's red face turned a nice shade of white as he heard every word from Celia's mouth. His jaw hung lax as his mind processed every word that had been heard. She loved him…? How could this be…?

Celia's face fell slightly when she saw that Kohaku hadn't responded for a while. He… didn't love her in return? And she was so sure from his opinion that he was…

"Kohaku, I understand if you don't love me… I had hoped that we could remain friend-."

Her words were cut off as she felt a pair of lips against her own. Her eyes grew wide as her shock turned instantly to joy and bliss as she closed her eyes and placed her arms around Kohaku's neck/

He was kissing her, and he was very, VERY good at it too. Every unspoken emotion was mirrored through that one moment. It seemed as though the world had frozen and everyone had stopped and waited in painstaking silence for the two to part. In this world, nothing could touch them, they were the only ones there, fully aware of each other.

After an eternity the two separated, their chests heaving for breath. They smiled at one another, Kohaku opening his mouth to speak.

"Celia, I've always loved you," he spoke softly and gently voice trying to contain the joy he felt. "I always will love you… I'm just really surprised… that's all. I never expected things to turn out so remarkably well."

Celia smiled, and the two of them gazed long into each other's eyes, memorizing every single detail and every emotion…

"So, I guess there will be a wedding?" Celia said, smiling as she kissed Kohaku's cheek.

"I think so," Kohaku said, his smile rivaling John's. As he looked at her, it grew impossibly larger. "You missed, Celia. Your kiss should go a bit more to the left…"

"Kohaku Shiro, you are such a mischievous man!" Celia laughed before her lips closed upon his once more.

------------

And so a month later, the two of them were married in a small ceremony. The years flowed by, but still their love remained the same as it ever was, a force never to be broken by any force… Even today, fifty years later, they still sit by each other, laughing and fondly recalling the day they had confessed their love to one another, and how fate had done so much in their lives.

------------

**Author's Note:** Well, here it is. I know it was probably… err, cruddy, but I hope that some people enjoyed it. If you like Zelda, then I have a Zelink story called **Childhood Ignorance**. It's pretty good so far, so I hope you check it out. Thank you for reading and I hope you review!

**This story is dedicated to my best friend of nine years.**

**You've been there for me so long, God bless you, and may He help you find your way.**

**Thank you for being there.**


End file.
